


Opposite Ends

by aidez_moi



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Manipulation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2020-10-10 19:41:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20533523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aidez_moi/pseuds/aidez_moi
Summary: What would happen if Jim Moriarty met his polar opposite? Sweet, bright, lovable, and, most importantly, someone who’s radiates pure idiocy from the moment of meeting?





	1. Chapter 1

She skipped down the street in perfectly giddy fashion. It was dark outside, and the moon and stars were visible and bright, not obscured by clouds nor pollution. Olivia, or Ollie, as she so often went by, couldn’t help but take walks on nights like this, when the air was warm and surrounded her like an embrace from a loved one. She took pleasure in the night and the day, and all that both had to offer, but it had gotten to be awfully hot during the day time. So instead, she took her daily walk at night in an empty area, her music playing at a medium level from a speaker she had fashioned to her hip. 

“BA DE YA, SAY DO YOU REMEMBER! BA DE YA, DANCING IN SEPTEMBER!”

No really, she screamed that as she walked. Nobody lived in the area, so it was fine, one would suppose. 

Normally, Ollie would invite her friends with her, and they would gladly join, but there was a party at one of the bars that they all happened to be going to. Ollie was never a fan of drinking, so she opted out. 

Ollie continued her singing (it was just yelling really), while headbanging, wildly dancing. As she neared a corner, she started throwing fake punches like she was in a Kung Fu Panda, as it was all part of her dance, and then--

“OW WHAT THE FUCK!”

Ollie’s fist had collided with a stranger’s face when she turned the corner, hard. 

“Oh my gosh, I am so so sorry,” Ollie said earnestly as she went to assess the damage. She gently grabbed the man’s face so she could get a better look. “I’m so sorry, did I break anything? I didn’t mean to I was just dancing. Is there anything I can do?” Ollie noticed that the man’s nose had started to bleed a bit, which only deepened her guilt. “Here, uh, oh uh, gosh,” she stuttered as she fumbled through her pant pockets to see if she had a--oh thank god, there it is. She whipped out a napkin from her pants and went to help stop the bleeding. 

“Jesus don’t fucking touch me. Yes you broke my fucking nose. What the hell’s your issue?” He was scalding, and his words immediately scorched Ollie. 

“Uh, I--um..” she trailed off, her face becoming hot and her eyes starting to swim. Yelling was the worst. She put her hands up to her face. “I’m so sorry. Please. Um. You-you can punch me if you want if it makes you feel better.” She knew that was probably a poor idea, considering that he was about 6’2 and muscular as all get out, but she none-the-less felt obligated to give the offer. 

You’re so fucking stupid. 

Ollie shook her head to get rid of the voice. 

Just as this man looked poised to take up her offer, a man standing by said, “Sebastian, just relax.” Ollie looked up, a tear coming down her face. “She didn’t mean it, did you?” This other man, who had been chuckling while watching the whole interaction between the two go down, gave a sweet smile. Sebastian knew that look. Anybody would have seen the look in his eye, the mischievous gleam, the--

“No of course not!” Ollie let out a sigh of relief and gave an earnest smile. “I thought I was gonna have to take a hit to the face. It would have been my fault, but uh, the prospect of someone double my size hitting me is a bit terrifying. Well, I guess not double my size. If you were 11 feet that would be extra terrifying. But you are very tall, still!” She said, glad that her issues, in her eyes, didn’t have to become any bigger. 

With a smirk on his face at this obviously young girl’s obliviousness, the man glanced over at Sebastian, and then back at Ollie. “Shouldn’t you be at home this time of night? How old are you?” 

“Oh, I’m 23.”

“I’m sorry what?” Sebastian said, incredulously. Jim gave a chuckle and raised his eyebrows. 

“23. I’m 23. I’m almost 24. I got about a week until my birthday. We’re having a Disney-themed party. I know I know, sounds ridiculous but I’m super duper stoked.” She let out a squeal. “I’m so excited.” Both men looked at her with their mouth parted in disbelief. “I think everyone is expecting me to show up as Merida or Ariel, but jokes on them, I’m showing up as the greatest Disney Princess: Flynn Rider.” Both men laughed. Ollie internally high-fived herself. She loved when her jokes landed well. “Soo, you’re Sebastian, correct? What about you?”

Still recovering from his laughing fit, the man managed to get out “Jim.” He shook his head. There was no way, none, that this girl was 23. He refused to believe it. “You’re, at most, 12 years old.”

“Me?” Ollie said. “No no, I really am 23. Do I look like I’m 12? I get that comment a lot actually and I never really get it.”

“You’re out here, at 1 in the morning, screaming the lyrics to September, dancing like a maniac, you’re having a Disney-themed birthday party, and you are just too--” his head tried to land on a word. Innocent? Stupid? Naive? All fit very well. 

“Stupid?” Sebastian chimed in. 

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. 

“I don’t think I’m that stupid. I go to a pretty good university. I do well. I’m majoring in Environmental Chemistry. I promise, I’m 23. Really I am.” Jim was bemused and amused. He’d never met someone who’s every sentence seemed to end with an exclamation mark, and while he’d met a lot of stupid people, this was a new benchmark. “I’m Olivia, by the way, but you can call me Ollie.” She stuck her hand out to shake his. With a funny little smile on his face, Jim reached out and shook her hand. “You seem very very nice. Both of you! Wait one second!” 

She reached into her pocket to pull out a pen and a small memo pad. She wrote down her phone number and scribbled the name of her college on one of the pieces of paper. With a quick tear, she handed it to Jim with a great, beaming smile on her face. “This is my number. You are totally, absolutely invited to my birthday party! It’s gonna be awesome. There’s gonna be a lot of people there. Just text me if you decide to come and I’ll give you the address. I wanna give you some time to mull it over you know? And if not, feel free to text me anyways.” Just then, an alarm started going off on Ollie’s watch. “Ha, well that’s my alarm telling me I should get headed back. I have a 10 am class so I want to make sure I get my full 8 hours of sleep! I’m sorry again about your nose, when we see each other next time, I’ll make sure to make it up to you, I can buy you a coffee or something. I’ll see you guys around!” She gave them the good ‘ol finger guns and turned on her heel, skipping back the way she came, looking down on her phone to turn on another song. 

Jim and Sebastian looked at each other. Sebastian seemed mortified, but the corners of Jim’s mouth just kept turning upwards until he was chuckling out loud. Sebastian looked down the path she had gone, though she was no longer there. “Who acts like that?” 

“An idiot.” Jim was so shocked by the blatant show of affection and warmth that he had forgotten that he was supposed to make her feel sorry for punching Sebastian. It seemed he had forgotten too. Neither knew how to interpret the disregard for her own safety and incredible naivety. Jim felt something in his stomach that he couldn’t put his finger on, and he didn’t like it, but something in him made him want to pursue it, so before the went on their way to continue the night’s business, he turned to Sebastian with a clever grin on his face. 

“What do you say we go to a Disney-themed birthday party?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bear with me through the side plot! This is as much an original story as it is a fan fiction. There's still plenty of Jim in this chapter though! :) Enjoy

When Ollie finally got all of her notebooks ready for tomorrow, her outfit planned, and her alarm sat, she laid down in bed to rest with her thoughts. It hadn’t been the first time she’d met someone at night, nor was it the first time she’d made friends with someone under odd circumstances, so she was happy with the prospect of having more friends to be around. She hoped her other friends would like them. They were all very sweet, so of course they would, at the very least, get along. Ollie smiled to herself, and then she grinned like a maniac and giggled quietly. She was more than happy. She was ecstatic. Meeting new people always made her giddy. And they were out in the middle of the night too, just casually on a walk it seemed. Maybe they valued the beauty of the night and embraced it just like she did.  
Just then, her roommate walked in, stumbling.  
“Oh, uh, hey Kyla. Are you okay?”  
“Yeaaahhh, I just need to uh, sleep. Sleeeeep. Yeah. Yep.” She walked to the bed and collapsed in it, the firm, college bed hardly giving way to her body weight.  
“Kyla?” She was out like a light. Ollie got up and moved over to her bed, seeing if she could get the blanket out from underneath Kyla, but she groaned in protest, so Ollie let the blanket go. Ollie had two blankets. One would be fine for the night. She grabbed her large yellow blanket and laid it on top of Kyla. Quietly, she left the room to fill a cup with some water from the water fountain, and put two ibuprofen next to the water for Kyla when she got up.  
Ollie sat in her bed. She stared at Kyla, silently, who mouth hung open and gentle snores came out of her mouth. Ollie’s felt disconnect, felt saddened, her stomach turned--  
Kyla and Ollie were roomed together by random.  
“Hey there girl~” Kyla said as soon as she walked in and saw Ollie on the first day. Ollie turned to greet her with the biggest smile.  
“Ah! Hi, Kyla right? I’m so happy to meet you! Are you okay with hugs or do you prefer a handshake?” Kyla laughed at her enthusiasm.  
“A hug is more than alright.” Ollie wrapped her arms around her and Kyla returned the hug.  
“This is just a super exciting time for me. I’m so happy to be here.”  
“Hey me too! I’m so fucking ready.”  
Kyla donned a leather jacket, skin tight jeans, a black tank top, and a beanie, as well as a pair of sunglasses, on top of her head. She was tall, petite, and had short, midnight blue hair. Ollie’s excitement rose. This girl was beautiful and looked like the definition of cool. Seriously, open up the dictionary and you’ll see her face in there.  
But then the first week happened.  
Ollie tried to keep her head in her own space, her nose in her business, but she couldn’t help but notice that Kyla went out every single night. Of course, Ollie understood, there’s a want to fit in and hang out, but every night was different. Something about it was off tune to Ollie.  
So she brought it up to Kyla. Once. Twice. Three times. Kyla denied the issue, but Ollie kept pressing. Pressing and pressing until--  
“Just mind your fucking business!” Kyla exclaimed. Ollie’s heart burned. “If I wanted your advice or your opinion, I would ask for it!” Ollie stared in confusion for a moment, and then quickly ran out of the room. Surely, she just meant well. What was there to be upset about? There was clearly an issue. So why run from it?  
She just wanted to help.  
Ollie returned to the present. She hoped that Kyla would come back and apologize, come back and admit her problem, but she never did. And she knew Kyla was planning a roommate switch. Ollie was convinced at first that it wasn’t her fault, but as time went on she wondered if maybe the fault was in her hands after all. How on earth could she broach that?  
DING!  
Ollie, alarmed by the sudden sound, scrambled across her bed and grabbed her phone, hurrying to unlock it and turn the ringer down. Once she had accomplished that, she swiped down to see what the notification was. It was a random number. She opened it. 

Hi! Jim here.  
Before I settle on coming to that birthday party of yours, let’s meet up.  
332 Bethnal Green Road  
7 pm. Wednesday.  
Don’t disappoint!  
Jim xoxo

Ollie knew she could make it, though she might have to rush from her classes (and she wondered why he chose a place over an hour and a half away, wow!), so she sent a quick text back to confirm. 

Sure thing!  
I might run a few minutes late because of classes. But I’ll definitely be there!  
Ollie :) 

That address was uh...Ollie looked it up, cause she wasn’t quite familiar with anywhere outside the college, since she wasn’t even from there. It was just a nice, simple restaurant. Italian. A pair of jeans and T-shirt would cut it, thankfully.  
She looked down from her phone and looked at Kyla again, who certainly hadn’t left her head. Maybe she could get some advice from another friend, though she knew that all of Kyla’s friends were also at a loss. Maybe a counselor could help, but then again, professional help could lead to intervention, and Ollie worried that would make things worse.  
Unsatisfied with her lack of answers, Ollie decided to focus and press that little gold button inside of her, that would give her the hope she needed to see things through, and to give her hope that she could fix things with Kyla and help her. Once the button was pressed, Ollie calmed down enough to fall into a normal night’s sleep. 

\---------------------------------------------

The next day, Ollie was swarmed by excitement. The nights worries had faded, hope allowing her to enjoy the prospect of a night out with a new friend and delegate the issue to another time. By the time she reached the end of her class and got on the subway, it was 5:00. That wasn’t too bad, but then again, the metro is, and always will be, unreliable.  
But today, the metro was only a few minutes late, so she showed up at the station at 7:00 on the dot. It was a five minute walk to the address. As soon as she got off the metro, her phone dinged again. Walking with a pep-in-her-step, both because of excitement and because she was late, she checked her phone.

Running late?  
Jim xoxo

Yeah. Sorry! I’m sure you know how the metro can be.  
Ollie xoxo

Ollie slipped her phone in her pocket and kept walking. She turned one final corner and saw him leaning against a black car. He wore a well-fitted, navy blue suit, starkly contrasting her casual wear, but she hardly noticed the difference, and instead gave him a large, friendly wave.  
“Hey there Jim. Nice suit. You look fantastic and it fits you very well.”  
“Oh thank you for noticing. Nice jeans,” he said sarcastically, the sarcasm flying right over Ollie’s head.  
“Ya think? I got them for like, 12 bucks. They’re honestly a size too small for me if we’re being honest. I always forget to try them on before I buy them. I kind of just eye it,” she said, squinting her one eye shut.  
“Well, that’s not good. You wouldn’t want to suffocate, and also, I’m just thinking, anyways, you’re going to want to wear something a bit more formal.” His voice was sultry.  
“Oh, uh, really? This place isn’t really all that fancy, you know? I mean, I can go back and change, that’s not really a problem, if you need me to, I just thought--”  
“We’re not eating here, first off,” Jim interrupted. Ollie cocked her head in confusion. Jim’s lips parted, but nothing came out, as he stared at her tilted head. A smile came across his lips. She was so pitifully adorable. Naive. Innocent. He couldn’t wait to take that from her. “And I have something you can wear in the car.”  
“Wait, uh, really? In the car, this car? We’re getting in the car? And an outfit? Like--”  
“You’ll see,” he said definitively. Jim had expected Ollie to be worried, scared, a bit more confused, but instead--  
“Oh okay! It’s a surprise. I love that. I love surprises!” Jim shook his head. He shouldn’t have expected any less, or any more, really, from her. But, was she really just going to get in the car with a man she met last night?  
The answer to that is, yes, of course. “So this car?”  
“Yes, let me get the door.”  
“Oh no I’ve got it,” she said, opening the door and slipping inside with a smile. Jim made his way to the other side and got in himself. He gave her a longing stare.  
“God, you’re already beautiful, but trust me this is going to make everyone look at you in awe.” He leaned down and grabbed two larger boxes from between his feet, and then three smaller boxes, and handed it to her.  
She laughed a little. “You just have this stuff on hand?”  
“No I went and bought it.”  
“Oh jeez, um, you really didn’t have to do that. Oh my gosh. You’re so sweet--” And then Ollie let out a very loud gasp. “SEBASTIAN?! I DIDN’T EVEN REALIZE YOU WERE THE ONE DRIVING!”  
“Oh my god,” Sebastian let out a sigh from the front seat. “You almost gave me a fucking heart attack.”  
“I’m so sorry,’ she laughed, “I’m just so excited to see you again. I honestly thought this was an Uber.”  
“No we own this car.”  
“Ohh okay, I’m so glad you’re joining us then.”  
“No the hell I’m not,” he said.  
“What? Why not,” Ollie said innocently, almost whining, in a disappointed tone.  
“I just don’t, uh, like going out to eat. I...prefer to stay in,” he claimed, making it up on the spot, but the excuse seemed to suffice for Ollie, as she resigned willingly, albeit a little sad.  
“Anyways, open the boxes, love.” Jim looked at her, elbow resting on the door handle and his head resting on his hand, a grin on his face, excited to see her reaction, to know just how well he was buttering her up.  
Ollie opened the first box. It was--  
She shut the box hard and fast.  
“Jim. You want me to wear this?”  
“Yes. And I want you to keep it too.”  
“No no no, I-I can’t do that. I feel bad. I really appreciate the gesture, but...there’s no way this was cheap. I know that. I can’t.”  
“Shhh,” he hushed her with a finger to her lips. “Just put it on. Please?” He asked so sweetly, with a raise of his eyebrows.  
“Where?”  
“Here.” Ollie pointed down at the seat as if to double check. Jim nodded. “I won’t even look, I promise, and he covered his eyes with his hands. Ollie didn’t know why he was bothering to cover his eyes. That was the least of the problems she had. She struggled out of her jeans and lifted her t-shirt over her head and reopened the box. A satin red dress with adorning rhinestones. She put the dress on over her head. It reached down to just a bit above her knees, though she was sitting down, and a slit that crawled up to her mid-thigh.  
“Okay, I have the dress on. You can uncover your eyes now.” When he did, Ollie let out a small laugh. “I’m sorry, you just looked like you were playing a child’s game.”  
“Really, which one?”  
“Ha, uh, the one that makes fun of babies for not understanding object permanence.” Jim was a bit thrown off by the slightly elevated, of course only relative to Ollie, language, until she leaned over and whispered, “I learned that in my psych class this week. I could never make that joke up on my own.”  
He chuckled. Of course. “Here, let me help you, that bra doesn’t really work under that dress,” he whispered, and wrapped his arms to the back to help her undo the clasp.  
“Oh, uh, hey, sorry,” she said pushing his arms off of her. “I um, I can do it. I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be rude, I promise, it's just that we just met last night and I don’t know if I'm…” She trailed off, her mind contemplating whether he was trying to be sexual or if he was just trying to help. I mean, taking off a bra isn't always an easy task. Of course, he’s probably just trying to be helpful.  
Jim relished in the uneasy look on her face. She was clearly sheltered. All he had to do was give her and show her things she’d never seen, and she would start to break apart.  
Ollie wrestled quickly with the thought, until she came to the conclusion that he isn’t “probably” trying to be helpful, he just is being helpful. No reason for her to think any differently, as he had been nothing but helpful and kind.  
“I’m sorry,” she shook her head. “You’re just trying to be helpful and I appreciate that a lot, but I can do it. Just like the car door. I don’t want you to feel obligated to give me a hand if you don’t want to.”  
Jim nodded. "What a stupid bitch," he thought amusedly. “Ollie, do you think that way about everyone you meet?” Ollie unclasped her bra, slipping it out of her dress, and set it with her other clothes.  
“What do you mean?”  
“That they’re all just well-meaning? Just trying to help?”  
“Oh yeah, definitely.” She opened the smaller boxes, taking a necklace, a bracelet, and a set of earrings out, all silver, with the necklace and earrings having matching rhinestones as the dress. “Most people are really truly well-intentioned. I think we hear so many stories about, well, ‘bad people’,” she said, with air quotes, “but we ignore the billions of good people on this earth. The chances of me meeting someone on the street who wants to do any harm is very low, I think.”  
“May I help you with you jewelry?”  
“Yeah absolutely.”  
Grabbing the necklace and wrapping his arms around her to clasp them, he leaned right next to her ear, whispering, “And what if you’re wrong about the people you meet, hm?” He put the necklace in place. Something about the way he said that sent an involuntary shiver down her spine, and her arms were flooded with goosebumps. She paused.  
“Then that’s a risk I take, y’know? I’m not going to be selfish with my love just because I’m scared someone might hurt me.” Ollie stared right into his deep brown eyes, which squinted at her in confusion.  
“Okay guys, enough with the philosophy class, we’re here.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, my laptop just broke on me all of a sudden, which means I'm writing these chapters from my phone. That's not the worst thing, but if the writing is a bit sloppier or I'm not posting every day (which was my plan), it's because of the struggle that comes with using my phone to type these chapters.   
Otherwise, lots of Jim to start and then original plot at the end. Lots and lots of interaction going on here. Please enjoy!

The restaurant was something Ollie had only seen in movies. It was easily the fanciest place she’d ever been to, with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, candles on every dinner table, which were clad with silky, white cloth, hard, tiled floors, large windows, and a domed roof. Ollie was mortified at the prospect of even looking at the menu, and came to terms with the fact that she probably wouldn’t be able to eat tonight, which kind of made her laugh in all its ridiculousness. 

Jim, seeing the look in her eye, waited until they sat down and said to her, “Scared?” A smile was rested on his face, wondering if she was finally starting to realize the mistake that she made in coming here with him. 

“Mortified,” she laughed. A waiter set menus down in front of them, and asked them for drinks. “Water, please,” she said, looking at the waiter with a big, bright, sunshine smile, while Jim nonchalantly ordered a bottle of wine, and the waiter went on his way.

“Places like this always scare me a bit,” she said. 

“Why?” He inquired as she looked down at the menu.

“Bud, this menu is getting me. A cup of milk is 8 bucks. I don’t even have 8 bucks!” She smiled widely and Jim chuckled. “I mean, I have 8 bucks but like, it’s so much.”

“Well don’t worry about it tonight. I’m going to pay for us both.”

“What? No, no no, absolutely not. You’re so nice but…” Jim smiled as she continued babbling guiltily, stuttering over her words. He knew he probably didn’t have to go so far out of his way to convince her to just get in his car and come home with him for a bit of “playtime” but he wanted to anyways. 

The waiter came back with their drinks and asked if they were ready to order, interrupting Ollie. Jim told him no and the waiter was on his way. 

“Can you just tell me what you want so we can get on with order please?” Jim said, annoyance cutting through his words. It was half amusing and half irritating, but it was becoming more obnoxious by the second. 

Ollie recognized the tone of voice, and decided that she may as well just go along with it, regardless of how guilty it made her feel. But the way he spoke made her feel even more guilty, and as looked at the menu she blinked rapidly to try and get the tears to stay inside her eyes.

“Hey, look at me. Are you going to cry?” Him said, trying his best to sound caring. She looked up at him, the glisten in her eyes becoming more apparent under the light of the chandeliers. 

“No,” she said, somewhat choked up, and then she put her face into her hands. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you crying?” Jim was beyond confused. He’d had a few men and women who, after becoming tired of whatever it was they were doing and giving them similar treatment, would leave the table in anger or shoot back at him for being rude. But Ollie was just crying in her hands in the middle of the restaurant over it. Somewhat embarrassing. 

“I just..I’m not trying to be annoying. And I already feel bad because of all this and now you think I’m annoying and…” she stopped talking as a couple tears streamed from her eyes. 

Jim noted how ugly she looked when she cried, her face all scrunched up and bright red, but, rather unusually, he felt a bit bad. The sight was kind of funny, but, also, just kind of saddening. “Ollie relax..” he said, trying to be comforting. Should he just talk to her here? Should he take her outside? What would he even say? “Christ, come here,” he said, and told her to follow him outside. 

“Ollie, I don’t think you’re annoying. I promise, I really don’t. You’re funny. A little weird but that’s okay.” Ollie looked up at him, finally meeting his eyes. Bright. Innocent. A shiver shot through his spine, reminding him why he’d brought her here in the first place, renewing his original purpose. “You’re very beautiful you know that? Even when you cry. I don’t want you to do any more of that though,” he said, giving her a wink. 

Ollie’s eyes dried up almost immediately and a smile came across her face. Jim loved how easily she ate up his words. He didn’t even have to try and lie convincingly. “Let’s go back inside, hm?”

Once seated, Ollie, after apologizing one more time for getting upset, finally decided on something with falafel, rice, and a slew of other fancy ingredients and parts. 

“So,” Ollie said, “What do you like to do in your free time? Like hobbies, interests?”

“Oh, I’m just a crime lord,” he said jokingly.

“What?” Ollie exclaimed.

“I’m joking, I’m joking.” He was not joking. Ollie let out a sigh of relief. “Well let’s see. I like writing stories. I like reading. I like fairy tales quite a bit. I like puzzles. Riddles.”

“You must be very smart.”

“Oh, thank you, I guess I’m kind of smart,” he said, pouring himself a glass of wine. “Not as smart as you though. Oxford. I was a bit disbelieving when I saw that, but you must be smarter than you let on. Wine?”

“No thank you, I don’t drink. But yes I think I’m pretty smart. I got good grades, the whole deal. Lots of extracurriculars. Did well on tests.” 

“You’re a college student and you don’t drink?”

“Uh no. Did you go to college?”

“No, can I ask why you don’t drink?”

“Personal preference. Why didn’t you go to college?” Jim leaned forward to fill the wine glass that sat next to her cup of water. 

“In case you change your mind.” He leaned back, finally setting the bottle of wine down. “I didn’t go to college because I didn’t need it. Don’t need to spend money or waste time on something like that when I can get a perfectly fine job without.”

“Unless you’re going for intellectual pursuit. Just for the sake of knowledge.” Their food arrived. 

“Oh my job comes with plenty of intellectual pursuit.”

“What do you do?”

“I could show you later.”

Ollie smiled widely. “Yes! I’d love to. That sounds exciting—are you an astronaut because I’ll lose it if you are.”

“No I’m not.”

“Dag nabbit. I love space. But I’m sure whatever you do is cool. Someone like you has to have a cool job.” Ollie took a bite of her food, and, much to Jim’s horror, had the widest range of expressions he’d ever seen someone have when they ate. She nodded with pleasure. She raised her eyebrows with satisfaction. She closed her eyes and bowed her head, just slightly, as if she was making a quick thanks to God himself for each bite. No sound just the strangest pallet of facial expressions he’d ever seen reserved for a meal. 

Jim started laughing incredulously. There’s no way it was real. I mean, at least she didn’t moan when she ate, but still it was so ridiculously funny for him to look at. Ollie looked up at him with wide, and confused eyes. She laughed a bit herself, finding humor in his warm laugh. 

“What?”

“Why do you eat like that?” He asked, still laughing.

“Like what—oh noooo,” she said, laughing a bit more. “Oh my goodness, I know exactly what you’re talking about. Oh man, I picked it up from my father he eats exactly the same it’s not my fault I swear.” And then, she conjured up the image of the way her father ate, which made her laugh even harder. She kept gasping for air, and Jim kept laughing with her. He couldn’t see what she saw, but her endless laughter, which started to send tears from her eyes as she attempted to stay somewhat quiet, made him laugh even more than her eating did. 

Once they’d gotten their giggles out for good, taking quite some time, including a bout when Ollie thought she was done, only to take a small sip of water and spit half of it out laughing, they continued to eat their food. 

Jim discovered the Ollie’s interests included space, birds, the color yellow, and a bunch of other varied interests that all fit her well. Bright, cosmic, extroverted, lo—

Jim shook his head. 

They were nearing the end of their meal, and Jim’s excitement was beginning to build. He was so close to the point where could walk her out those doors and take her home. He would have preferred her a little tipsy, enough to make her a little more defenseless without taking away her comprehension, but he wasn’t going to push her to drink. Sober would be fine. With Sebastian there it wouldn’t really matter. 

“Ha ha ha ha, staying alive, staying alive, ha ha ha ha, staying aliiiiiiive!” The ringer was, thankfully, not embarrassingly loud. Ollie grabbed her phone and looked at it. 

“Sorry, it’s my roommate, hold on,” she said excitedly and picked up the line. “Hey Kyla, what’s up?” Ollie’s excitement suddenly dwindled and shifted into worry, to Jim's confusion. “Are you alright? What can I do?” There was a long pause. “Okay where are you, do you know? Okay I’ll be there. Do you want me to stay on the phone? Okay then I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She hung up. The worry in her voice had risen over the course of the conversation from mild to severe. “I’m so sorry, Jim, I have to go. My friend really needs me. I’m really sorry.”

“Would you like to be driven there?” He asked. “I can call Sebastian.”

“No really, she’s actually nearby. It’ll take longer for Sebastian to get here and take me over there than for me to just run. Okay, I’ve gotta go.” And she ran out in urgency, leaving Jim alone in the restaurant. 

Jim sat back in his seat. He asked for the bill and paid it, disappointment and frustration coursing through him over the fact that she had slipped right through his fingers. Fuck. He called Sebastian and stepped outside. As he waited, he looked to the ground and noticed a pair of shoes. The red heels he had gotten Ollie, left lying on the ground, presumably left behind so that she could run a bit faster. As he picked them off the ground, he looked out into the almost darkened night. The stars were beginning to fall down from behind the daylight, so bright already that he felt like they were reaching down to touch him. When Sebastian arrived and Jim got in the car, Sebastian looked at him with a poorly concealed smirk on his face. “Did she ditch you?”

“Not by her own choice.” Jim looked at him. “Don’t laugh at me Sebastian.” The use of his full name, rather than one of Jim’s nicknames for him, made him try to conceal his smile a bit better.

“Sorry sir.” 

Jim let out an exasperated sigh. 

————————

Ollie sprinted, bare foot, to find Kyla sitting on the ground outside of a seedy bar, sitting in the fetal position. Ollie kneeled down to hold her, to help pick her up off the ground, but Kyla was in her own world, fat tears rolling down her face and onto her shirt, her sobs and cries loud and unhinged. Ollie didn’t know what to do and was incredibly terrified. She didn’t know if the area was safe, and wanted to get out, but she couldn’t convince Kyla to get up off the ground and walk with her. She sat in silence, her arm around Kyla’s back, and, with insecurity and helplessness in her voice, spoke to Kyla.

“I don’t know if you can even hear what I’m saying, but I...I love you. And I’m going to call someone to come pick us up. I’m sorry. I wish I knew what I could do to help and I wish I knew what was wrong.” Ollie desperately wanted to mention the issue she saw, the alcohol, but conjuring up the issue in her mind of Kyla standing in front of her, yelling, caused her to back down. With no response from Kyla, Ollie picked up her phone to call a friend, and noted the time. It was barely even 9 o’clock. The sun had just gone down. While that had implications in regards to the way Kyla drank, it was good news for them. 

Lily, an upperclassman who lived down the hall from Ollie and Kyla, was studying in her room when her phone rang, sounding off with a preset ringer. Upon hearing Ollie’s desperate plea to come get her and Kyla, and with the knowledge that she was one of the few students on campus with a car, grabbed her keys and hurried to find them. 

“Jesus Christ, what are you guys doing out here? It’s only 9 o clock! And why are you guys all the way out here? This isn’t even near the school!” Lily was concerned. She kneeled down to get a look at Kyla. When she saw her face, burning red and streaked with tears, she brought her hand up to rub her own face and head with worry. “Okay, let’s get her off the ground.” Ollie and Lily managed to lift Kyla up off the ground, both realizing that she was terribly inebriated, incapable of standing up on her own. It took a bit of effort to get her into the back seat of the car, where Ollie sat with her. As Lily started the car up and prepared to drive away, she turned back to Ollie. “Call someone. Like, the Campus Security or something, or literally any adult that would be available on campus.” Ollie hesitated. “I know you don’t want to make decisions for her, but this is unsafe. She at least needs to be checked out for alcohol poisoning. When she’s sober we can call someone in the Health and Welfare Team or a counselor.”

Ollie followed Lily’s words, trusting her sense of direction, but still somewhat unsure. She wondered if Kyla would be upset when she woke up. She wondered if she would let them help her. Ollie glanced at Kyla as she spoke on the phone. The familiar face of drunkenness sending shivers through her. Ollie tried to press that button at her center, tried to find some form of hope and happiness, but Kyla’s face had frozen the button, iced it, to the point that it could no longer be pressed. Ollie knew that she wouldn’t sleep tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tea is hot in this one. Drama city. Enjoy ;)

Ollie was right. She didn’t sleep for a second. She just stared. Stared at the roof. Stared at Kyla. Stared out the window that shed moonlight on her skin. 

She wanted to do so much. But the night had already deepened, and she didn’t feel like she could reach out to Lily or any of her other friends. 

She sat on her bed as time passed her by. 

The sun started to rise. 

Ollie quietly got out of bed, so as to not wake Kyla, and sat at her desk. She pulled out a sketchbook from her desk and started drawing. She wanted to draw something in the morning light that would warm her core. 

So, with her rather amateur skills, she drew her father. She tried to capture his eyes, with his hooded lids, and his hooked nose, and the sunlight that radiated from him. 

The image, though poor, brought light to Ollie. She could handle this. She knew she could. She would just have to push through it as she always had. 

She decided she would give Jim a call and apologize for last night, remind him of the upcoming party she had almost forgotten about between all the dates and drama. She picked up her phone and exited her dorm room into the hallway, dialing Jim. 

The phone rang a few times before Jim, surprisingly, picked up the phone. 

“Hi there Ollie, I didn’t expect you to call so soon.”

“Yeah, you know last night was crazy. I just thought I’d call now that the sun is actually up.”

“You didn’t sleep?”

“Oh no. But hey, I just wanted to say sorry for last night. And thank you so much. It was a lot of fun and I’m still excited about learning about that job of yours and about you and just spending more time with you. I was just in a bit of a pickle last night you know?” Ollie found herself grinning as usual, but still somehow a bit wider.

“It’s really okay, love. I get it. You’re friend was in trouble. I respect that.” Something about the way Jim called her “love” made her heart flicker. 

“Thank you Jim. By the way, you’re still invited to my party. It’s tomorrow night.” 

“At your dorm?”

“Ha no that would be way too small. A close friend of mine has her own place that she’s letting me host the party in. She’s a total sweetheart. I love her. I’ve known her since we were kids.” Ollie squealed. “Please tell me you’re coming. I’m so excited for you to meet all my friends.” 

“Of course I’m coming. I’ll need the address though.” Jim, on the other end of the line, had a small smile on his face, but it was growing by the minute. There was no way that she would have to run away tomorrow. At the end of the night he would bring her back to his home and take his time showing her all the things she was ignorant of. He licked his lips instinctively as his heart shook with delight. It felt like it might burst, but in a way that Jim found rather unusual.

“I’ll send you the address through text. And just remember, you have to dress up. You could always show up as Eric from the Little Mermaid.”

“Ah but then I’d want you to show up as Ariel.” Ollie’s heart tripped over that clever sentence.

“Maybe you could show up as Rapunzel.” Jim laughed. 

“Oh maybe. We’ll see.” He said jokingly, though the thought of seeing Ollie’s face when she saw him wearing a dress brought him some glee. 

“Well, I have an 8 am class this morning and I haven’t touched my homework, so I’m gonna let you go to do that. I’ll text you that address and the time as soon as I hang up and I’ll see you then. Byeeeeee Jimmy!”

“Byeeee love.”

She hung up the phone and leaned against the wall, bringing her arms up to her chest so as to calm her heart, which was beating out of her chest. She stared widely at the ceiling. This must be what all her classmates felt in high school. Unadulterated and simple, young love. 

————————-

Kyla took her Thursday and Friday classes off, taking time to see a couple counselors. She didn’t say a word to Ollie, which hurt, just a bit, but Ollie was mostly glad that Kyla was getting help. Feeling as though some peace had been brought to a scary situation, Ollie put her focus on getting everything she needed for the party, working with her friend, Molly, to get everything set up. 

Molly worked in forensics about half an hour away. Ollie and her had met in a coffee shop about a year ago when Ollie first moved there, where Ollie found her crying over a detective in her department. Ollie has sat down and inquired about her tears, trying her best to give her advice about a situation she wasn’t familiar with herself, assuring Molly that she seemed lovely and would either win this boy's heart or find someone just as great. 

Since then, Ollie kept in close contact with Molly, since she was her first friend after moving to the area, learning about her job, her hobbies, and their shared affection for poetry. Ollie gave Molly as much love as she could, as she was rather insecure, and Molly helped Ollie with her Chemistry homework, since she was painfully bad at it. 

When Ollie mentioned her plans to throw a birthday party, Molly quickly offered to help host at her place. 

When Friday hit, Ollie was beyond ready for her party. She threw on her Flynn Rider costume, and she, Lily, and three other friends of hers, Oscar, Grayson, and Amelia, hopped into Lily’s car over to Molly’s house. 

It was 8’clock, 30 minutes before the start time of the party, but there was already about 10 people there, which made Ollie happy. She greeted them all and said hi to Molly, who was standing with three men Ollie had never seen before. 

“Hey Molly! Are these your friends?” Ollie said excitedly. 

“Yes, I hope it’s alright that I brought them here.”

“Oh yeah totally! The more the merrier right? And besides most of the people I invited are college students. I invited like two people who aren’t. Completely different groups of people. I like all your outfits by the way!”

“It took a bit of convincing on my part, though Sherlock here refused to get dressed up still,” she said, smiling and pointing to a tall, trim man with black curly hair. This was the man Molly had talked about many many times. 

“Nice to meet you there Sherlock. Don’t worry, there are plenty of people who chose not to dress up either.” Sherlock did not respond, seeming rather unamused by both the party and irritated with the excitement Ollie exhibited. She turned to the other two men. “Nice to meet you guys too! What are your names?”

John Watson and Greg Lestrade were both much more responsive and warm than Sherlock, and Ollie really did enjoy their outfits. Molly was dressed up as Meg from Hercules. John was dressed up as Prince Charming. Lestrade donned an outfit of a character she couldn’t quite recognize, with a pink and white suit and a tiara on his head. 

“Who are you dressed as Greg?”

“Genderbent Ariel from the Little Mermaid,” he said smiling widely. Ollie laughed out loud with glee. 

“I love it so much! It’s perfect. Well I’m gonna go talk with some of my friends. It was so nice meeting you all!”

Ollie invited a lot of people, and many of them showed up. Molly’s flat wasn’t particularly big but it was decent sized, and there was a yard and a patio that were also being utilized, so it thankfully worked. People wore all kinds of outfits, some established characters and others with general prince and princess outfits. Everyone basked in how ridiculous but fun it was. There was food and a large array of drinks, as well as lights and dance music playing inside, loud enough for the guest to enjoy but not so loud that any surrounding neighbors complained. 

Ollie was enjoying herself, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit impatient, waiting for Jim to arrive. It was about 9 when he did. 

“Jim! Oh boy I’m so glad you’re here!” Ollie flung her arms around him in a tight hug. Jim met eyes with Sebastian as he patted her back half heartedly. 

“I’m glad to be here. Sorry I couldn’t dress as a Disney character. Bit last minute.”

Ollie pulled away and looked at him. “Oh it’s alright. There’s plenty of people with normal clothes on. You’re wearing a suit so it does look like you’re trying. I have a couple of plastic tiaras still if you’d like one.”

“Oh if you could I’d love one.” Ollie giggled. 

“There’s drinks and food over there if you’d like some. And if you’d like to make some friends here, there’s a group around adults. The woman is actually helping me host. The one I was telling you about over the phone? There she is.” Ollie pointed to Molly, who was standing by herself by the stairwell, the three men having left he briefly. Jim screamed internally with pleasure and hilarity. There was no way the woman Ollie was referring to was the forensic he already knew well, who had unknowingly helped him get a closer look at Sherlock. But it was. 

Turning back to her, he smiled at her. “Oh okay. By the way, I like your Flynn Rider costume. It’s very cute.” 

“Aw thank you,” she laughed a bit, her face turning red. Jim let her know he was going to get a drink, and then walked away, leaving her with Sebastian. 

“Hiiiii Sebastian. How are you?”

“I’m great,” he mumbled with sarcasm, which Ollie actually picked up on, for the first time ever. 

On the other side of the room, Jim poured himself a cup of lemonade, noticing the complete lack of alcohol. He laughed to himself. A college party, with tons of people and no alcohol. Poor kids must have expected a wildly different party. He turned to a kid standing nearby and asked if there was any, just to check. 

“Oh no, Ollie said no alcohol.”

“Really? Kids in college almost always bring alcohol.”

“Yeah but she asked us not to, and we respect that. Not everyone wants alcohol at their events.”

“You know why?”

“No clue. She’s probably just not the type. I got friends who won’t drink just because it’s nasty.” The boy turned and walked away with his iced tea. Jim was surprised at the turnout for the party considering the circumstances.

He sipped on his lemonade and looked to a different spot in the room, his eyes settling on—oooh. “Well, if it isn’t Sherlock,” he thought to himself. Jim debated whether he should avoid him or go talk to him, just for the gag, but before he could make up his mind, Ollie came and grabbed his arm. 

“Here’s your tiara,” she said, putting it on his head, “and also, look at the dance floor, everyones going wild.” She smiled, giddy. “I’m so happy. I didn’t think people would enjoy it so much. This is my first birthday party you know that. I’m so glad that all these people came.That,” she put her hand on her chest, “brings joy to my heart.” Jim grinned at her. 

“You’ve never had a birthday party before?” Ollie shook her head. “How come?” 

“Just couldn’t,” She shrugged. Jim accepted the answer and looked up to where Sherlock was, and Sherlock’s eyes bored into him. Jim gave him a sweet smile and put his arm around Ollie. Sherlock said something to John, who also looked up, and both glared at Moriarty in shock.   
Ollie looked up at Jim with all sorts of love in her eyes. “Do you wanna dance or something?” Jim agreed, quickly giving Sebastian a word to keep an eye on Sherlock, and he pulled her to the area where everyone was dancing. He felt the eyes on his back, but gave it little mind.   
Sherlock had amused him, but he had given him the warning in the pool, and was moving on to his new play thing. 

To Jim’s amusement, Ollie was a horrific dancer, and It was hilarious and terrifying all at once as she went crazy on the dance floor with no inhibition. He loved it. Something in him, in his stomach, grew and grew, like an elastic band that was about to snap. 

Sherlock made his way over to them, and Ollie looked him in the eye. “Hiiii Sherlock!” She yelled. Moriarty glanced back, a mischievous gleam in his eye. John was behind Sherlock, and Sebastian, seeing Sherlock and John’s trajectory, was making his way over to the same area. 

“Moriarty,” Sherlock greeted him, clenching his teeth. 

“Hi Sherlock. Long time no see.”

“You guys know each other?” Ollie exclaimed. Jim grabbed her waist and pulled her close to him.

“Yep. It’s a small world isn’t it?” Jim said. By that point, John was beginning to lose his temper, and he pushed the Ollie and Jim apart. The people around them were beginning to look at them, but turned around, determined to mind their business. 

“You work with him?” John asked Ollie, accusation prevailing in his voice. 

“No, no, I’m a college student,” Ollie said, confused. “We’re friends.”

“No you’re not,” Sherlock interjected. “Trust me.” 

“Now now Sherlock don’t be rude. Of course Ollie and are friends. We’re very close.” Moriarty claimed. Sebastian had finally pushed through to them, staring John down. John recognized him as the man who put those bombs on him in the first place in the pool. 

“Jim we should probably get out of here.” Sebastian suggested.

“What? No. Absolutely not. I’m having fun spending time with my little Ollie.” 

“That’s it,” John said, ready to send his fist straight at Jim’s face. But before he could get there, Lily pushed past Jim, moving him out of the way, a look of fear on her face.

“I’m so sorry. Ollie, um, we have a problem.”

“What is it?”

“It’s--It’s your mother. Your mother is here. I-I don’t even know how she knew this was happening or whatever.. But she just got here and I she’s looking for you.”

Ollie’s eyes widened in terror, all happiness and color draining from her face. She was suddenly pallid and sickly-looking. 

“Oh no, um, what do I do?” Ollie asked, flustered and freaking out. 

“I don’t know.” Lily was trying to think of something, but before she could, Ollie spotted her mother. She ducked down and made a dash for the door in terror, weaving her way in a complicated line to avoid her mother and get out.. Lily ran after.

Jim turned to the group of men around him. “Don’t worry, I’ll see you all around,” he said. Before John and Sherlock could react, Jim found himself slipping through the crowd after Ollie as quickly as he could manage, catching a quick glimpse of her mother, and running into the warm summer night. He saw Lily and her in the distance, and, without any thought, his feet carried him her direction.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MY LAPTOP JUST GOT FIXED :DD So I'm back @ work. Shall I give an UwU for this happy moment?

Ollie darted down the street, putting as much distance as should could between her and her mother. She launched herself still behind a tree, so that she may remain invisible to her mother had she come for her. 

Lily and Jim, followed and sat next to her, both out of breath from the hundred miles they had just run. Jim looked at Ollie’s face as Lily sat down next to her and simply held her, whispering similar phrases of “it’ll be okay” over and over again. He had never seen her like this. Even when she had run from the restaurant, concern plastered on her face, it was nothing like this. This was terror. Horror. An unshakable trepidation for...her mother.

He didn’t know what to do. He just sat and stared at her pathetic, shaking self, her mother’s sudden appearance having thrown her into a downward spiral. He recognized that face, knew it all too well. 

He took a seat next to Ollie in the grass. He went to grab her hand, but flinched away at the last second, instead choosing to simply sit next to her. He observed her scrunched, red, ugly face. He tried to feel amused but instead, all he could feel was--

“James!” 

Jim looked up to see Sebastian running towards him. 

“Jesus Christ, there you are. It was a pain getting out of there. I was worried I wouldn’t find you.” He looked over at Ollie. “What the hell is wrong with her?” 

“Hey, watch it, and mind your business.” Lily’s words slashed at Sebastian like a knife. 

“Are you kidding me? This bitch has got Jim here acting like a fucking madman. Sprinting like Usain fucking Bolt.”

“Bitch? What the fuck?”

“Sebastian. Enough. Just let it go.” At Jim’s command, Sebastian mouth sealed shut. Ollie buried her head into her hands, digging her nails into her forehead, and tearfully mumbled an apology to the people around her. 

“No don’t apologize Ollie. I don’t blame you.” Lily soothed. Jim didn’t know whether to feel annoyed or not. He had wanted to take her innocence. Surely, he must have realized there were some issues that came with that. Until he succeeded, anything could easily set her off, just like a child cries when they scrape their knee or bump their head. As easy as it was to make her happy, so too it would be simple to upset her. He wanted that, to upset her, but that didn’t mean he would want to deal with her crying constantly. But Jim couldn’t bring himself to feel irritated nor to feel amused. His heart simply felt weighed down by the picture in front of him in an emotion that he couldn’t describe. 

Ollie’s heart was collapsing.

Stupid bitch. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. Stupid. Dumbass. Stupid Stupid Stupid. 

“Ollie, can you tell us what’s wrong?” 

He reached out and grabbed her hand. 

Ollie had been falling backwards, endlessly, into an abyss. A dark, black pit. The depths of the ocean or the emptiness of space. Helpless, trying to grasp anything. The darkness consumed her, kept pulling her down, further and further. But then, Ollie’s fingers tightened around Jim’s, her head exploding from the pressure, the tears, the fear. Slowly, the feeling of his soft, smooth hand in hers slowly pulled her up to the surface. She gasped for air, her head above the water. She looked to Jim, his eyes a warm, cozy brown. 

“My mother is...mean. I know that sounds ridiculous. But…” Ollie stopped, unsure of what to say, but feeling Jim’s grasp tighten, the words came tumbling out. “She’s an alcoholic. And abusive and she hates me and ever since I left she’s been trying to find me, stalking my social media and stalking my friends trying to find me. I don’t know what she wants. I just want her to leave me alone.” All this came out an octave above Ollie’s normal pitch, as she was forcing the words out through her tightened air passage, trying not to choke. 

Lily was rubbing Ollie’s back in soft, circular motion as Jim stared with widened eyes and furrowed brows. Ollie’s seashore eyes were glistening with her tears. The space was silent for a moment.

“We should get you back to your dorm. I’ll drive you,” Jim said softly. He shivered at the intonation of his own voice. Ollie nodded and turned to Lily.

“Can you please help Molly. I feel really bad and I don’t want her to close everything down her self. You don’t have to but I--”

“It’s okay. I will. You don’t have to worry.” Lily smiled at her gently. Jim instructed Sebastian to go get the car, and Sebastian turned on his heel and walked away with an air of anger. “Okay, I’m gonna go back. Jim, can I say something to you first? It’ll just be a quick moment.” He followed her a few feet away, just out of Ollie’s earshot, who sat and pulled pieces of grass out of the ground. 

“Yes?” Jim said, the irritation hitting him full force. He didn’t feel like hearing shit from Lily.

“Listen to me, very closely. Ollie hasn’t shared that information with anyone besides me. Never. And she just shared it with you. You know what that means?” Of fucking course Jim knew what that meant. He wondered if she thought he was a moron. “That means she trusts you. She loves you even more than she loves most people. So if you ever do anything to betray that trust, I will find you, and I will rip your esophagus out.”

“You don’t trust me, I take it.”

“Nope. I don’t know you. I just want to make sure Ollie is safe.”

“She is.” Lily narrowed her eyes at him. 

“She better be.” With that, Lily began to walk back to the party. Jim returned to Ollie and helped her off the ground as Sebastian came rolling by with the car. They both entered the back seat. She leaned on him, fatigued, finding it difficult to keep her head up.

“Thank you.” He felt the sincerity in his voice. He wished she wouldn’t give it to him so freely. He looked down at her, her face still wet with tears, but no longer flowing, and his heart panged. It beat so loudly he was sure everyone in the world could hear it. 

“Ollie…” He said, his voice but just a whisper. “Tell me...what happened.”

“In my childhood?”

“Yes. Everything.”

\--------------------------------------

To tell someone everything would take too long, and frankly, Ollie had done her best to pour as many memories as she could down the drain. A 40 minute car ride would never be enough time. Ollie would just have to condense it down.

Ollie recalled her father with incredible fondness. She told Jim of the way he spoke of birds and nature and sunlight. The way he would take her outside during the summer to point out small bugs and take her into the night to connect the constellations with her. 

“My mother though...she was not as kind. She drowned herself in alcohol. Every night and every day. She was perpetually drunk. It was bearable when my father was around, but she would attack him and berate him and abuse him. And so one day, he just...left. And I took his place.” Ollie rubbed her hands together nervously, trying to keep them from sweating. “She would call me names all the time. Told me I was stupid and dumb and a moron. She cursed at me. She said things I will never, ever get out of my head. My father left when I was about 11, so I was pretty aware of her habits, and I generally was able to avoid getting hit, but not always. When I did get hit she usually went all in. Throwing her beer bottles. Punching me. Kicking me. Whatever. I hated it. I just wished she would stop drinking. Stop and just love me like parents were supposed to but...she never did.”

Ollie closed her eyes and a few tears fell out. She drew in a shaky breath and shook her head. Jim watched her intently, listening to story that sounded so familiar. “I just kept pushing. I just went to school every day and stayed for as long as I could to do my homework and do as well as I could. I joined clubs and volunteered and did everything I could so that I could go to college and get away. I wanted to be her polar opposite. Sometimes I don’t know if I’m doing it right. Sometimes I wonder if I’m really just the idiot she says I am.” Ollie paused. Then she lightly chuckled. “But then I realize, if I am ‘stupid’, then I probably am doing it perfectly. I’m going exactly where I want to go.” She looked up at Jim, who was stunned and confused. “I’m just doing what I want and being who I want to be. And if I do those things regardless of her voice in my head, then I’m probably alright.” She gave a gentle smile. 

To both Sebastian and Jim’s surprise, Jim blurted out, “You are. You’re doing everything right.” 

“Thank you. Thank you so much. And if I’ve got friends like you then I must be.”

As if in tandem, though unbeknownst to them, Jim’s and Sebastian’s eyebrows raised up far enough to touch the roof of the car in surprise and horror. Ollie leaned her head on Jim’s shoulder once again, the only one at peace in the car, as they drove home. She was happy to know some of the kindest people in the world.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And I oop-  
Ain't gonna lie we're getting close to smut I can feel it.

It had been a week since the party. Jim had dropped Ollie off at her house and gone home, vowing to never, ever talk to her again. How could he say that? That she was doing everything right? He had been overcome by a strange feeling, an overwhelming, all-consuming...He wasn’t sure what to call it. Fondness. Maybe. The way that his stomach twisted and knotted at the sight of her smiling. The way he clenched his fists at the thought of her crying. And he knew he was out of his goddamn mind if he ever let that happen to himself. To let himself be controlled by another person. 

So even when Ollie sent him a text, thanking him again for coming and for helping her, he ignored it. He felt a new and unwelcome ache deep in his chest. 

He had everything he wanted, right? Power, wealth, freedom, even a game to play with ol’ Sherlock. There was nothing to be gained from continuing to see Ollie. She was nothing more than another game to him. A naive, overly-trusting, foolish, hopeful, energetic--whatever. 

“Stop thinking about it,” Jim commanded of himself. Obsessive over the thought, Jim pushed and denied the stirring in his stomach. 

And Ollie was none the wiser. She wanted to see him again, and considered sending another text, but she understood that he was probably between a rock and a hard place. Seeing what he did was difficult. She hoped he would text her back soon or call soon. 

But then, she received a text from someone else. An unknown number. The signature at the end of the text, however, said “SH.” 

??????

Oh, Sherlock Holmes. Of course!

The text read: 

*We need to meet, convenient for you or not. 221B Baker Street. Tomorrow @ 4.* 

Ollie was a bit confused. She knew she had a class she really didn’t want to miss, but also, it sounded incredibly urgent. She’d also received a message from Molly telling her to make sure she met with Sherlock. Her class would just have to wait. She enlisted in a friend of her to get notes for the next day and let her professor know how sorry she was that she had to miss. Then, out of curiosity, sent a text back to both Molly and Sherlock.

*What for? If you don’t mind my asking.*

Both refused to answer. 

And so, when the next day rolled around, Ollie made her way to 221B Baker Street, it admittedly being a hassle as she struggled to find the right building for a solid 10 minutes, walking past it multiple times without noticing it.

When she finally found the space, she rang the flat doorbell, and an older, trim woman answered the door, lively as ever.

“Oh, you must be here to see Sherlock. Come on in sweetheart,” She sang.

“Thank you so much. I’m Ollie. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Mrs. Hudson, dear. They’re up upstairs, their door is open.” Ollie nodded and climbed the steps, poking her head into the only open room on the floor. 

“Hello? It’s Ollie. You texted me?” 

John walked around the corner from the flat’s kitchen. “Oh, hi there. Sherlock decided to hop in the shower since you are late.”

“Ah, I am?” She looked down at her watch. “I am. I’m sorry, I’m incredibly bad at getting places on time. I get lost easily.”

“No it’s alright. Sherlock might give you a little hell but timing doesn’t matter so much, I suppose. He shouldn’t be long now.”

“Alrighty. Well, it’s quite nice to see you again. John, right?”

“Yes. It’s nice to see you again too.” He smiled politely and Ollie shot a huge grin back.

“Oh, so, I texted him to ask what this was about but he never responded. Do you know?”

“Ah, well, it’s about the man who was at your party last week.”

“James or Sebastian?”

“Yes.” 

“Ha. Okay. Well, are they alright? They’re not hurt or anything I hope?”

“Um,” John fumbled a bit, as if confused about the question. “They’re fine, yes, but uhm, that’s the problem.” Ollie raised her eyebrow.

Just then, Sherlock came walking out of the bathroom and into the living room. “You’re late,” he claimed, as if that was news to everyone in the room, rather irritated.

“Yes, I know I’m sorry. I got a bit lost trying to find the place. Lovely to see you again, Sherlock.”

Sherlock uttered a sigh. “I was just telling her that we’re here to talk about Moriarty,” John said.

“Right. Of course. So, Ollie, why don’t you take a seat. I think we have a bit of talking to do.” Ollie nodded and sat down in the seat he motioned to, and John and Sherlock followed suit. “Tell me, what exactly is your connection with James Moriarty?”

“Connection?”

“Yes, how do you know him?”

“We’re friends.”

“No you’re not,” Sherlock shot at her. Ollie pursed her lips. Furrowed her eyebrows. Of course they were friends. 

“We met a few weeks ago while I was on a walk. I accidentally punched his friend, Sebastian in the face when I turned a corner and so we talked a bit that night and--”

“Yes get on with it.”

“We exchanged numbers. He took me out to dinner. I invited him to my party and he came. He’s actually been looking out for me. So I would 100% venture to say that we are friends.”

Sherlock chuckled. “You think he wants to be your friend? You think that’s all he wants from you?”

“If he wanted to do anything more he’s had his chances. I’ve been with him and Sebastian multiple times alone in their car. They just take me where they say they are and are super nice.” Ollie paused as Sherlock squinted at her. “Why is this a question?”

“Do you know what Moriarty does for a living?” John interrogated.

“Nope.’

“Well, you’ve been engaging with a crime lord. A psychopathic spider,” Sherlock said. 

“Crime lord?”

“Yes, and he and Sherlock are currently duking it out.”

“Duking it out? You guys are crime lords too?”

“God, no, we’re trying to stop him. Sherlock is a detective. Moriarty tried to blow us up in a pool once and it’s a bit of a problem.”

“Oh oh, okay. Blow you up in a pool?”

“Listen, let’s stop digressing here,” Sherlock interjected, getting more and more annoyed by the second. “Has Moriarty said or done anything that seems significant or suspicious to you? Texts, calls, anything?”

Ollie pondered for a minute. 

“No. Nothing. It’s been completely normal as far as I can tell.”

Sherlock paused. “Well, this has been pointless.” He rubbed his head.

“Ollie, listen, whatever you do, don’t engage with Moriarty any more. He is very good at hiding his intentions, whatever they are.” 

“No, no wait. Keep talking to him.”

“What? Sherlock don’t be ridiculous.”

“No, she should. Be our informant.”

“I wouldn’t mind, but we actually haven’t talked since the party. I’ve texted him but he hasn’t texted me back.”

“Well, push a little bit then. If he doesn’t get back to you fine, but if he texts, you let us know.” Ollie nodded. “You can go.”

Ollie got up from her seat and headed towards the door. At the last moment, she turned around to the two men. “Why do you think he does it?”

“Because he’s insane. He likes to watch people suffer,” Sherlock said. Ollie nodded her head, trying to wrap her head around the situation. She walked out the door, down the steps, and out onto the street, preparing to make her way back home. She was confused, more than anything, contemplating whether or not they were actually serious. After all, Jim had been extraordinarily kind. He had been there for her when she was bawling her eyes out. He drove her to her college dorm when she needed him most. He told her, earnestly, that she was doing everything right, the one thing she needed to hear. 

Why would he do that?

And so she wondered the whole way home, resolving to call him and, if he didn’t answer, leave a message explaining the situation, even if it could end badly.

He didn’t pick up the phone.

“Hey, Jim, it’s Ollie. I just wanted to ask you a question. Sherlock and John, you know them, I believe, had me go to their flat and they seem very suspicious of you. Claiming you’re a crime lord or something.” She let out a chuckle that almost fell flat. “I was just curious about why they’re saying that and if I should be worried.” She paused. “I’d like to see you again soon, by the way. Bye.” She put down her phone and let out a deep sigh. If he didn’t respond, so be it, even though it made her somewhat sad. Confused. She quite liked Jim, even with the rumors and all--

RING. RING. RING!

She jumped at the sound. Looking at the screen, she saw Jim’s name pop up. 

“Hey, Jim, is that you?”

“Hi Ollie. It is.”

“It’s good to hear your voice. Very good.” 

Jim paused, choosing to ignore that sentiment. “Listen...I really don’t want you to get tangled up in all this. It won’t be good for you or for me. Us continuing to talk won’t help either of us.”

“I'm confused. What don't you want me to get caught up in?”

Jim sighed. “What John and Sherlock said.”

“I see.” So it was true. Ollie felt somewhat hurt. 

“Because whatever they told you is true, Ollie. They aren’t messing with you. So just do us both a favor and back off. This needs to be the last time we interact.”

“But we're friends.”

“What?”

“Sherlock insisted that we weren’t friends. John insisted the same. I disagree and I don't want to stop talking to you for that reason.”

“We’re not friends.”

“Then why are you trying to protect me?” 

“Ollie. I was never your friend. I don’t want you to get tangled up in all this because you will get in my way. You will ruin everything I have worked for.” He tried his best to sound amused. “I was using you.”

“And what did you gain?” There was silence on the other end. Ollie refused to believe that Jim had viewed her as just a pawn or a means of getting what he wanted, whatever that could have possibly been. She knew that wasn’t true. “Jim, already you've been emphasizing how bad this would be for me more so than yourself. And for as long as we've been friends you have been giving and giving, even when I couldn't do the same in return. That's something friends do....I think you and I are friends. And I think you feel the same.”

Jim shook his head at the end of the line. “You wish I felt the same.” The ache in his chest was starting to build up and take over his voice. He tried to push it down.

“I know you do.”

Jim laughed incredulously on the other side. “Ollie, what do you want from me? You know I’m a criminal now. You know I hurt people. I steal. I cheat. I lie. I am the antithesis of everything you are and I am no good for you.”

Without a thought in her head, Ollie blurted out: “And what if I say I don’t care?”

Jim paused, stunned by the response. “I would be incredibly surprised.”

Ollie looked at the wall, fixating her eyes on a hole where a tack once held something up. Was this really what she wanted to do? To fall into a hole she might not be able to crawl back out of? To be pinned against the wall over someone she had met just a few weeks ago?

Maybe. Maybe. 

Yes.

“Then be surprised, Jim.”

“You’re going to regret it.”

"I don't think I will."

“Ollie, I'm going to ask you one more time to just please stay out of it. Forget all of this ever happened. Pretend we never met.”

“No.”

Jim rubbed his head with his hands. 

“You are a crazy bitch you know that? A naive, crazy bitch.” Ollie was silent on the other side. “Are you at your dorm?”

She let out a stream of air from her lips. “Yes.”

“I’ll be there soon. Just wait outside for me.” 

Click. 

Ollie put her phone on the charger and sat down on her bed. It would take him a while to get here. Ollie was shook. This was the only time she’d ever colored outside the lines, and she was dragging the crayon to the corners of the paper. She may have been odd, eccentric, but she had always been a rule-follower and a people-pleaser, wanting to make everyone happy. And now here she was. Jim was on his way.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, Moriarty be looking kinda fresh doe

She stood out on the sidewalk, her palms sweating. Actually, her whole body was sweating. Shaking, too. She drew in deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. 

Crime Lord. Yikes. 

There was no rhyme or reason to what she was doing. No good cause or destination, yet she was not ready, not willing, to turn away from this man who made her heart and head and body glow and gleam and ache all at once.

His jet black, posh car pulled up to the street. Ollie did not instantly recognize the car, so stuck in her own thoughts that its appearance made almost no impression on her. 

Jim opened the door of the vehicle and stepped out, taking a few steps toward her. She broke out from her head and looked at Jim. His eyes bore into her. They dug straight to her core and made her insides turn. 

Agitated, Jim spoke: “Would you like to get in the car?”

“Um, yes, sorry.” She slid in the backseat and moved to the other side so he could follow in after her. Jim closed the door and instructed Sebastian to take them to Moriarty’s house. 

“Yes sir...No “hello,” Ollie?” Sebastian inquired. Ollie leaped up to put her head into the front seat. Her eyebrows were turned up and eyes were wide.

“Hello! I am super stressed right now so I hope you don’t mind my lack of introduction. You know I’m always happy to see you.” She then collapsed back into her seat. Jim stared at her. 

“Ollie, you know the consequences of this, right?”

“Probably not but I’m learning to live with that.” She smiled trepidatiously. He refused to smile back and just shook his head instead. 

“You should be scared, Ollie.” 

“What?”

“You should be scared of me. Of what I’m going to do to you.”

“I’m not going to be.”

“Okay, but remember these are your choices. I told you we’re not friends but since you insist, I’ll make sure I give you a reason to remember that we’re not.” Ollie swallowed the fear that was building up inside her. She didn’t know what he meant. Was he going to kill her? 

No. She knew she was right. Jim and her were friends.

Jim moved from the end seat to the middle to get a bit closer to her, with a look of malice on his face, and slid his hand just underneath her shirt. He ran his thumb over the sides of her stomach, causing a few involuntary twitches from Ollie. 

“Ticklish?” He asked. She nodded nervously. He chuckled and licked his lips, and his hand began to climb up towards her breast, which he squeezed gently. 

“Jim--”

“Shh, it’s okay. You’re okay. This is what you wanted, remember?” 

“No--” She grabbed his hand and pulled it away from her hesitantly. “I don’t...know what I want.”

“Then let me show you.”

“Are you going to hurt me?” 

“Mmm, Not too badly. Not if you play along.”

They were friends. Ollie knew she was right, but his words made her falter, and she put her face in her hands as tears welled up in her eyes. Her head was screaming, “look what you’ve done. You fucking idiot.”

“Oh come on don’t cry. You look fucking ugly when you do that.” That comment just made her cry more. Jim cringed at his own words, but he knew he had to do this. To do anything else was to resign himself to the feeling, the word that was clawing at his insides. “Jesus, you just always have to make it difficult. You called me. You told me you didn’t want to leave you alone. You insisted on it and this is what happens.” He grabbed her inner thigh and squeezed hard enough to make her cry out in pain. “Now why don’t you let daddy take care of you, hm?”

THWACK.

Ollie landed a hard slap across Jim’s face. Jim stared at her in stunned silence. Her tears had dried almost completely. 

“Please stop. Please stop acting like you are the bad guy.” 

“Do you need me to stop the car, Jim?”

“No.”

“For the love of anything, stop acting like you are the bad guy when you have already shown me that you’re not.”

“Ollie, everything I did was literally so that you would let me fuck you.”

“Why do you want to be bad so much?”

“For God’s sake. I don’t want to be bad, Ollie. I am bad.”

“Then kill me!” 

The car was silent for a moment. 

“Excuse me?”

“If you’re so bad, if you don’t care about me, then kill me. Do whatever you want to me and kill me. If that’s all you want then you won’t mind doing it, right?”

Jim let out a short, incredulous laugh. “You’re willing to risk your life to prove a point?”

“I’m not risking anything.” 

Suddenly, Sebastian slammed on the breaks, and Jim flew forward, practically landing in the front seat. “Seat belt check.” Sebastian said calmly.

“What the fuck Sebastian? You just about killed me.”

“Sorry, it was getting really tense. I couldn’t take it.”

“You were in the army for the like, 8 years, how can this be “too tense” for you?”

“You were in the army?” Ollie asked as Jim moved into the backseat. 

“Yep. Worst 8 years of my life. Everyone there was a piece of shit.”

“Oh wow.”

“That’s crazy, Sebastian, but I don’t remember anyone asking.”

“Oh yeah and you’re so good at not giving out information that nobody asked for.”

“Shut up Sebastian. You’re being a bad employee.” Ollie chuckled, seeming to have forgotten the problem at hand. “Oh is our fighting funny?” 

“Kind of. It’s more like bickering though.”

“Know-it-all.” 

“My friends used to tell me that sometimes. I’ve been working on it.” Jim stared at her with fondness. The way she smiled like the stupid, innocent little dog brought an ache to his chest. She interrupted his gazing. “I hate to have to be a know-it-all but, you’re not going to kill me, are you?” He took in a deep breath.

“No. I’m not, am I?”

Sebastian had pulled the car into the driveway of a very, very nice house. No neighbors. Obscure location. 

“Nice house.”

“Yeah. Let’s go inside.”

The three got out of the car and walked up to the house. It was a modern design with large windows. When they got inside, Ollie took notice of the dark hardwood floors and, further into the house, the plush, white carpet. “No shoes.” Ollie slipped hers off. 

“Let’s talk.” Ollie said. 

“About?” Jim walked towards the kitchen, motioning with his hand for her to follow. He opened up a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of wine. 

“John and Sherlock. The things they said. You, as a person and all.”

“I don’t want to talk about those things. No alcohol, still?”

“No. What do you want to talk about then?”

“You.”

“We’ve already talked about me, Jim. I’ve told you everything that matters.” Jim grabbed a bottle of orange juice from the fridge. 

“Orange juice?”

“I guess. Jim, why are you refusing to hurt me? If everything you’ve said is true then why would you refuse to hurt me?”

“I don’t know.”

“I think you do, Jim.” He grabbed two glass cups from the cabinet. 

“I don’t know.”

“Jim I just want--”

“I said I don’t fucking know!!” He howled, slamming one of the glasses onto the counter, shattering it into a million pieces. Jim stared at his hand, which was now filled with glass shards. Ollie was taken aback. She got out of his chair and, against any better judgement, grabbed the bloody hand of a silent Moriarty. 

Sebastian poked his head into the kitchen, saw the scene, and entered fully. He grabbed a first aid kit that sat in one of the cabinets. “Move.” Sebastian shouldered Ollie out of the way. She moved to Jim’s other side as Sebastian picked the glass from Jim’s hand. Sebastian gave her a quick glance. “Maybe you should go home.”

Breaking his silence, Jim spoke. “No. She’s not going anywhere. And I can finish wrapping up my hand.” He ripped his hand from Sebastian’s, who gave me a glare before leaving the kitchen. 

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” He said, pulling the last piece of glass out of his hand.

“Okay. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Suddenly, he snapped his head in her direction. “Ollie, I think you know exactly why I can’t hurt you. If you didn’t know, really didn’t know, I would think you were completely brain-dead.” 

“A lot of people think that about me, actually.”

“Oh for fucks sake! It’s because I love you!” He took a few deep breaths and his eyebrows furrowed in fear. There it was. That forbidden thought. Forbidden word. “And I hate that I feel that way I wish you would just get out of my life so that I wouldn’t have to think about it! But no, you just have to insist on staying in my life!” He put his head in his undamaged hand, afraid and confused. 

Ollie couldn’t quite wrap her head around the mismatch of his tone and what he’d said. But she wasn’t mistaking what he had told her. 

Love. 

She grabbed him by the chin and brought her lips crashing down onto his. Confusedly at first, and then with desperate desire, he kissed her back, and grabbed the back of her head to deepen the kiss as he pushed her against the counter. As their tongues intertwined, Ollie grabbed Jim’s other hand and moved it to her breast, coaxing him to touch her. To take her. To have her. 

He pulled away from the kiss and look her in the eye. When her ocean eyes met the sand and soaked it, his brown eyes were looking back at her from the land. “Ollie...what do you want?”

“You.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic (well, my first posted fanfic). First chapter is all good stuff. As for down the road: Fluff is a definite. Angst is a probably. Smut is a maybe. Please feel free to give me feedback on how I can improve.


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